Read More

“It is totally absurd that EU citizens in Gloucester have to travel a round trip of just under 100 miles to get their documents scanned in Bath.

“It must be scrapped.”

Max Wilkinson, the Lib Dem PPC for Cheltenham, echoed those thoughts.

Max Wilkinson

"For anyone who doesn’t have an Android phone, this botched scheme means they will have to take a full day off work and fork out hard earned cash just to apply to stay where they currently live."

The initiative, which is currently in its testing period, will require those wishing to register as a UK citizen to do so by using the specially-designed app 'EU Exit: Identity Document Check' or registering at their nearest document scanning centre.

The nearest document scanning centre to those in Gloucester or Cheltenham is at Bath's Guildhall, so for those without Android smartphones it could mean a long journey ahead.

Read More

Those travelling by train could be paying up to £15, while driving to Bath by car could end up costing you nearly £30 in fuel costs. Both journeys are over two hours long round-trip.

Mr Wilkinson added: "EU citizens provide vital roles in our community and it's outrageous that we're treating them in such a craven fashion, asking people to take the best part of their day to travel for hours just for the privilege of carrying on that life is not the right way to do things."

"It shows a fundamental lack of respect for those individuals."

Read More

The Home Office has attempted to clarify any fears over these changes by specifying key deadline dates for declaring status in the UK. The deadline for applying for status is the June 20, 2021, or December 31, 2020 in the case of a no-deal Brexit.

Any fees incurred in the process of applying will be refunded to the individual by the government.

The Home Office has plans to improve the system throughout the trial period until it is implemented on March 30, when it promises 50 locations where EU citizens can register for UK settlement.